An offensive explosion and solid Adam Wainwright pitching lead the St.Louis Cardinals to a 8-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park Tuesday night. The win puts St. Louis back into a tie with Milwaukee atop the NL Central at 27-and-19.

Six different players drove in a run for the Cards, and four hit home runs. Nick Stavinoha’s first career homer, a solo shot in the second inning, opened the scoring. Colby Rasmus and Adam Wainwright hit solo blasts in the fourth, and Chris Duncan added a two-run long ball in the sixth. Duncan had a big game in the No. 2 spot, adding a single and a walk while batting in front of Albert Pujols for the first time this year.

Pujols drove in two runs with a sacrifice fly and an RBI single. Skip Schumaker had three hits, No. 9 hitter Joe Thurston added a single, a double, a walk and three runs.

 

 

Wainwright allowed just five hits and one run with nine strikeouts in seven innings for his fifth win.

The Cardinals and Brewers wrap up their three-game series with a matinee at Miller Park Wednesday starting at 12:05.. The teams have split the first two games. The Cards send Todd Wellemeyer to the bumpl agaginst Milwaukee’s Manny Parra.